Neil Young - Storytone

Being a die hard Neil Young fan, I'll admit that when I heard he was releasing an album with a full orchestra, I thought I'd probably give it a single listen and never play it again. Let it be known that my least favorite Neil Young song, "There's a World", completely ruined his most famous album for me, to be sure. It sits right there at track 7 of 10 chalk full of flutes and bells, destroying the folky-flow of the rest of the album. I can honestly say I have never listened to that song all the way through on purpose.

That aside, it's not surprising that Neil would come out with an orchestral album. He's long been known for creating albums that send record labels into all out frenzies (see Trans and Everybody's Rockin'). He has, after all, promised to compose a full length orchestral piece since the release of Harvest in 1972. Really, it seems the older he gets, the less he cares about what his fans think. There is something to be said for that, however.

Some of his most recent albums have been troubling at first listen but over time, I've concluded that many of them are actually some of his finest. Take A Letter Home as an example, the album that was recorded directly to vinyl using a 1947 Voice-o-Graph vinyl recording booth. It wasn't until I actually listened to the vinyl itself that I got the true feeling embedded in it. Whoa.

In any case, I can't say that I like Storytone quite yet. Orchestras aren't really my thing. What saves this album, however, is that he did release a deluxe edition that includes solo versions of all 10 tracks. He even plays the ukulele on one of them.

-Jason